The auction for the luxury penthouse of the Community of Madrid has been declared void, according to official sources and the documentation published by Planifica Madrid. The property, put up for sale for 6.7 million euros, did not receive any buyer’s offer, so Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s government has not been able to get rid of a property whose purchase operation politically pursues the president of Madrid.
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This Thursday, Planifica Madrid revealed part of the file justifying the purchase of the penthouse in Chamberí for 6.3 million, a strange and opaque operation carried out by the public company. The necessity report includes an excerpt with which the Ministry of the Presidency justified the purchase on July 2, 2026, almost three months after the purchase: “Having an institutional property with an area intended as a workplace, a rest area, and occasional accommodation for authorities on official visits to the region or for the authorities of the Community of Madrid themselves.”
The Community of Madrid bought the penthouse on April 14 and kept it secret until EL PAÍS revealed its existence on July 29. By then, Planifica Madrid had rented it to the Madrid Administration. That same day, Ayuso said the apartment had been acquired to serve as her temporary office while works were carried out at the Sol headquarters, the Government’s headquarters. However, due to all the controversy generated by the case, the Madrid government announced that it was putting it up for auction and that the money raised would be allocated to the reconstruction of the areas of the region affected by this summer’s fires.
The opposition denounced that the president had bought a million-euro luxury property to turn it into her presidential residence. The report shows that, at least, Ayuso could use that home “occasionally.” The reasons that led Planifica Madrid to buy this particular property have been the subject of speculation and political dispute for almost 50 days since this newspaper published the exclusive. Ayuso’s government has tried to close any controversy today with the publication of parts of the report and the statement of the minister.
Besides being intended as occasional housing for the president “or visiting authorities in the region,” the report explains that the penthouse also served for emergency situations: “Having accessory or complementary spaces to institutional headquarters in crisis management contexts that may be prolonged over time and may require a property of these characteristics. Let us recall here the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Community of Madrid justifies the acquisition with several more reports included in the same Planifica Madrid file. One includes the rental contract signed between Planifica Madrid and the regional Government itself. Another, from Economy and Finance, authorizes that rental and the corresponding multi-year payment. That rental, according to more information included in the report, was backed by the General Legal Department, which “expressly” recognizes the lease condition for “use other than housing.” A fourth document, also from Finance, insists that using it also as an office “is fully compatible with urban planning regulations.”
The Minister of the Presidency, Miguel Ángel García Martín, appeared at his own request just minutes after it became known that the auction had been declared void. According to him, the criticisms of the penthouse have intended to “hide” the migration crisis in Ceuta and the “very serious” corruption cases of the Sánchez government. “Spain is too big for him,” he said referring to Pedro Sánchez, the president of the central Government. García Martín assured that it was “never” bought to turn it into Ayuso’s residence, who was listening seated in the place she occupies in the Assembly.
He explained how that apartment was chosen: “Planifica Madrid, within the framework of its powers and its normal asset management activity (art. 2 of its Statutes), and at the request of the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Local Administration, acquired a property on Paseo del General Martínez Campos after a process of searching and identifying possible alternatives and with the aim of making it available to the Community of Madrid.” And added: “And here comes the big lie of the left: this property was never acquired to be an official residence for the president, as half of the ministers and many regional presidents do have.”
Then, he read paragraphs included in the reports of the file, which already appear at the beginning of this article. According to him, this documentation proves that there is no evidence that “any official residence” was sought. García Martín’s words were accompanied all the time by the opposition’s shouts. The president of the Assembly had to ask for silence several times. At one point, he had to ask the minister to stop for a moment and reprimanded the PSOE and Más Madrid deputies.
The most booed moment was when García Martín assured that the property was not put up for sale because of EL PAÍS’s revelation, but because of “the fires in the western mountain range.” Both events coincided in time. The minister said that Ayuso “has not had, does not have, and will not have an official residence.” And he listed the ministers who have one, which, according to his calculations, add up to 4,600 square meters and more than 75 million euros in value (something that has been the case with PSOE or PP governments).
By then, García Martín had raised his tone to the maximum and seemed to be carried away. “Ladies and gentlemen, the president challenged you last week to prove that the Community of Madrid had bought her an official residence to live in and, if you could not do so, to resign. Well, you are taking a long time to do so,” he said emotionally. His bench colleagues applauded him.
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